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Jan. 7, 1947.

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Patented Jan. 7, 1947 UNITED STATES 2,413,721 CONTAINER Frederick Lobl,

Middleboro, Mass.

Application March 17, 1945, Serial No. 583,299

' Claims. 1

This invention relates to improvements in containers of the general typehaving oppositely disposed wall portions which are yieldable toward andfrom each other and more especially to improved closure means forsealing a mouth opening in a said wall portion of such a container,which may be, for example, a hot water bottle or an ice bag.

The invention will be described herein as applied to a hot water bottlebut it should be understood that the structural features of novelty havea board field of utility for effectively closing a container againstescape of fluid by coaction of elements on superimposed relativelyyieldable wall portions of the container.

In my United States Leters Patent No. 2,171,730, granted to me September5, 1939, there is disclosed a container and closure therefor of thegeneral type to which my present invention relates'. The said patentedconstruction, shown embodied in a hot water bag, has oppositely disposedrelatively yieldable wall portions of which one has a mouth openingtherein and the other has a plug element adapted to be thrust into saidmouth opening. The mouth has an outstanding flange thereon, and the plugelement has an enlargement at its leading end constituting a head largerthan the mouth opening so that it can be forced through the mouth onlyby stretching the flange around the mouth. After the head of the plugelement has been forced through the mouth to beyond the flange, theflange resilientl'a contracts and closes around the plug element, backof its head-whereby the plug element is securely but removably held insaid mouth.

Although my said patented construction effectively closes the containeragainst escape of water or other fluid for ordinary purposes,'theclosure portion of the container sometimes becomes subjected tostresses in use 'whichcause stretching or pulling away of the mouthflange from its sealing engagement around the plug element. under whichcircumstances contents of the container may escape.

It is among the objects of my present invention to provide a containerof the mentioned general type having a closure and sealing means whichcan resist effectively and successfully all stresses and strains towhich the container and its closure reasonably may be subjected in use.I employ the feature of .my patented construction of projecting a plugelement flanged mouth opening in an oppositely disposed wall portionbut, according to my present invention, the plug element enters themouth without on one wall portion into a any appreciable stretching orenlarging of the mouth. Rather, the walls of the mouth openingpreferably are tapered, and the plug element has a complemental taperfor seating in the mouth. Also, the plug element has a continuous flangeof resilient flexible material projecting beyond the leading end of theplug and adapted to be rolled back over and into gripping sealingengagement with the mouth flange. 1

Another object is to provide a container closure of the mentionedgeneral description having a flanged mouth opening in one wall portionof the container and a plug on an oppositely disposed wall portion, withco-acting means on said flanged mouth and said plug for effecting aninner seal and an outer seal around the mouth opening. I provide acontinuous rib around the mouth interiorly of the wall portion havingthe mouth, and a complementary groove around the base of the plug on theother wall portion, said rib seating in said groove when the plug isthrust into said mouth. Also a continuous resilient projection on theplug is adapted to be rolled over into resilient gripping engagementwith the mouth flange eXteriorly of the container to effect an exteriorseal around the mouth opening andto maintain interior sealinginter-engagement of said interior rib in said groove around the base ofthe plug.

Yet another objectis to provide a double sealed container closure of thementioned general description having an exterior seal which effectivelycan resist stresses imposed thereon by flexings and distortions of thecontainer in use but which easily and quickly may be released manuallyto open the container mouth.

It is, moreover, my purpose and object generally to improve thestructure and effectiveness of containers and more particularly theopenable closures thereof.

In the accompanying drawing:

Figure l is a face view of a hot water bottle embodying features of mypresent invention;

Figure 215 a cross-sectional view on line 2-2 of Figure 1, on a largerscale;

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view similar to Figure 2 but showing amodified form of bottle mouth and closure;

Figure 4 a detail cross sectional View similar to Figure but showingequipped witha metallic ring;

f Figure 5 is a detail crosssection'al view showing a modified. form inwhich the closure plug is a separate piece cemented to the wall oppositethe mouth wall;

the mouth of the bottle Figure 6 is a detail cross-sectional view ofanother modification in which the plug flange is a separate piececemented to the plug body; and

Figure 7 is a face view of a hot water bottle having an oval-shapedmouth and closure.

Referring to the drawing, the hot water bottle as represented may haveits walls ID, I2 made of rubber as is usual but the mouth Id of thebottle opens laterally through the side wall Ill near one end of thebottle.

According to the invention, the mouth is surrounded by an exteriorlyprojecting flange I6 having its interior surfaces tapering asillustrated quently happens with separable closure elements.

in Figs. 2 and 3, and having a lip beaded ex- I teriorly as at I8.Interiorly, the wall I!) has a rib extending around the mouth andprojectil'ig generally toward the wall I2 for seating in the interiorroove 22 extending around the'base of the plug 26 on wall I2. Preferablythe rib will be somewhat larger than groove 22 so that the rib willenter the groove with force fit, Plug 24 has size and complementarytaper for fitting snugly in the mouth I4, and its solid extent is madeas short as is feasible so that the plug and its flange will notinterfere with fillin of the bottle.

It is a feature of my improved construction that the closure effectivelyseals the mouth both interiorly where the rib 20 seats in groove 22 andexteriorly around the lip I8 of the mouth flange I6. Also the plug isdrawn tight and maintained tight in mouth I 4, and the said interiorseal is maintained effective, by the exterior seal which comprises aresiliently flexible projection 28 on plug 24 which engages over thebead l8. Projection 26 has tubular extent beyond the end of plug 25,being projected beyond bead I8 on the mouth flange when plug 24 isseated in mouth Id. The outer end of tube 26 may be beaded interiorly asat 28, or may be beaded exteriorly, or not at all. The tubular walls areresiliently stretchable so that they may be rolled back over the lipbead I8 from their dotted positions in Fig. 2 to their full linepositions in Fig. 2. This roll-back of the tube over bead I8 involvesconsiderable stretching of the stock of the tube, and draws the plugstrongly into mouth I4 while simultaneously forcing the interior mouthrib 2t tightly into groove 22, thereby effecting a seal interiorly and ageneral sealing tightness of the plug all along the mouth flange. With aconstruction as shown in Fig. 2, for example, as the tube bead 28 isforced over the lip bead I8 it contracts to strongly engage back of beadI 8, accomplishing at this exterior location a seal which manually maybebroken easi y and quickly but which is secure and strong againststresses and strains incident to use of the bag.

The mouth I4 and the plug 24 with their respective accessories may begenerally circular in cross-section as indicated in Fig. 1, or they maybe oval in cross-section as suggested in Fig. 7. In either case thesealing action will be the same and the cross-section showings of Figs.2-6 are representative of either shape.

In filling the bag, the mouth wall It may be spread away from wall l2 sothat the plug 24 and its projecting tube 26 are clear of the mouth, andthe mouth preferably will be tilted slightly, so that water may passthrough the mouth and past the plug and its tube. When the bag issupplied with a desired quantity of water, the plug may be thrust intomouth I4 and the latter securely sealed as previously described.

Preferably each wall Ill, I2 will have one or In Fig. 3 the lip aroundthe mouth in wall I0 is merely an enlargement I1 providing both interiorand exterior beads, and the closure flange 21 requires no beaded end butrolls into sealing relation to the mouth as shown.

However, it may be desirable in some cases to form the closure element,with its projecting flange, as a separate element and to cement it inplace interiorly of a wall of a bag. Such a construction is illustratedin. Fig. 5 wherein the closure plug ed is a separate element cemented ina slightly depressed locating seat 36 in the bag wall 38. Thisconstruction simplifies the operation of molding the bag walls, and theplug and its flange. may be made of livelier rubber than the bag walls.

If desired, and as shown in Fig. 6, the plug body it may be molded as anintegral part of the bag wall :32 and only the projecting flange 44 inthis case is made separate, it being cemented at 45 to the plug body. Agroove 43 may be provided in the plug for seating a rib formedinteriorly of the flange. In this case, the flange conveniently may beof livelier rubberthan the main bag and closure plug.

Fig. 4 shows still another modification in which the mouth flange 52 isreinforced by a metallic ring 54. The metal lines the interior wall ofthe mouth, being turned outward to provide an interior annular rib orbead 55 for seating in groove 53 around the base of the closure. plug,and turned outward over the lip of the mouth flange and crimped intoclamping relation to the flange as at 60.. The metal makes the mouthflange more rigid and preserves the rubber mouth flange against crackingor other deterioration. Also the crimping of the metal at forms themetal at the lip into a bead behind which the turned over flange of theclosure plug canengage.

In every case, however, the closure plug seats from within the bag toclose the mouth, and effective inner and outer seals are efiected whenthe plug flange is rolled over the mouth flange.

While I have shown and described specific structural shapes and designsof parts, it will be obvious that various. changes in the shapes anddesigns of parts may be made without departing from the spirit and scopeof my invention as defined in the claims.

I claim as my invention:

l. A container having two wall portions movable relatively toward andfrom each other, one of said wall portions having a inouth'openingtherein and the other having a projecting plug. thereon for seating insaid mouth opening,-

mechanical sealing means around said mouth and plug interiorly of thecontainer, a lip extending around said mouth opening exteriorlyoi thecontainer, and resilient tubular means on saidplug inserted through saidmouth opening-resiliently engaged in sealing .relationfover said lip andbiasing said interior sealing means into co-acting sealing relation.

2. A container having two wall portions movable relatively toward andfrom each other, one of said wall portions having a mouth openingtherein and the other having a projecting plug thereon for seating insaid mouth opening, a lip extending around said mouth opening exteriorlyof the container, and an elastic tubular projection on said pluginserted through said mouth opening and rolled into sealing relation tosaid lip, said elastic tubular projection also biasing said plug to itsseat in said mouth opening.

3. A container having two wall portions movable relatively toward andfrom each other, one of said wall portions having a mouth openingtherein and the other having a projecting plug thereon for seating insaid mouth opening, an exteriorly projecting beaded flange on the wallportion having said mouth opening and extending around said opening, anelastic tube projecting axially at th end of said plug and having a beadof its elastic stock at its outer end, said tube being inserted throughsaid mouth opening and rolled over the bead of said flange with itselastic bead strongly and resiliently gripping the flange back of theflange bead.

4. A container having two wall portions movable relatively toward andfrom each other, one of said wall portions having a tapered mouthopening therein and the other having a plug thereon projecting withcomplementary taper and adapted to seat in said mouth opening, a ribaround the mouth opening at the interior end of its tapered walls, asocket around the base of said plug interiorly of the container forseating said rib, and elastic means on the end of said plug projectedthrough the mouth opening and engaged elastically at the exterior sideof the wall portion having the mouth opening and biasing said interiorrib and socket into co-acting sealing relation around said mouthopening.

5. A container having oppositely disposed flexible walls of which onewall has a mouth opening extending therethrough in general directiontoward the other wall, and said other wall having a stopper thereonprojecting generally in direction toward the wall with the mouth openingand adapted to seat in said opening, an elastic tube projecting from theend of the said stopper and adapted to be projected through said mouthopening when said stopper is seated,

a lip projecting exteriorly around the mouth opening, and mechanicalsealing means interiorly of the mouth opening, said elastic tube beingrollable backward over said exterior lip to provide an exterior sealaround the mouth opening and simultaneously biasing said interiorsealing means into sealing relation around the mouth opening.

6. In a rubber-walled container having a mouth opening in one wallthereof, a closure for said opening comprising a stopper projectinginteriorly from an opposite wall and seatable in said mouth opening, abeaded exterior projection around the mouth opening in said one wall,and an elastic tubular projection at the outer end of said stopperinsertible through said mouth opening and rollable backward over saidbeaded exterior projection around the mouth opening for strongly seatingsaid stopper in said mouth opening and for sealing said openingexteriorly of the container.

7. A container comprising a wall portion having a mouth opening therein,a second wall portion movable toward and from said first wall portionand having a plug-projection thereon adapted to be thrust into saidmouth opening of the first mentioned wall portion, said first wallportion having an exterior projecting lip extending around said opening,and said plugprojection having a resiliently flexible continuous flangeprojecting therefrom and adapted to be projected to the exterior side ofsaid first mentioned wall portion when said plug-projection is thrustinto said mouth opening, and to be rolled back over and into grippingengagement with said lip.

8. In a container for holding fluids, a pair of superimposed wallportions yieldable toward and from each other, one said wall portionhaving a mouth opening therethrough bounded by an exteriorly outstandinglip, a plug carried on the other wall portion, insertible in said mouthopening and having a resiliently flexible flange projecting beyond theend of the plug with continuity of extent around and spaced from theaxis of the plug, said flange being adapted to project through andbeyond said mouth when said plug is inserted in the mouth and to berolled back over and into gripping relation with said lip.

9. A container having superimposed wall portions movable toward and fromeach other, one of said wall portions having a mouth opening therein, aclosure plug on the interior of the other wall portion and projectinggenerally toward said mouth opening, an annular elastic flangeprojecting from the end of the closure plug, said plug being seatablefrom Within the container to close said mouth opening with said elasticflange projected through and beyond the mouth, and said elastic flangebeing rollable backward into sealing engagement with the con-.

tainer walls around said mouth.

10. A container having superimposed wall portions made of flexiblematerial and movable toward and from each other, an exteriorlyprojecting neck on one of said wall portions defining a mouth openingtherethrough, rigid means clamped on said neck and reinforcing the wallsthereof, a closure plug on the interior of the other wall portion andprojecting generally toward said mouth opening, an annular elasticflange projecting from the end of the closure plug, said plug beingseatable from within the container to close said mouth opening with saidelastic flange projected through the mouth opening and beyond said neck,and said elastic flange being rollable backward over said neck forannularly sealing the mouth opening.

FREDERICK LOBL.

